ABOUT

I've loved the "Venom Mob" since I first watched The Five Deadly Venoms on TV back when our local channel would show kung fu flicks under the banner Black Belt Theater.  Of all the Shaw Brothers players, my favorite has always been #4 Lizard, Kuo Chui* (aka Philip Kwok).

Five Venoms

Having had a recent bout of nostalgia, I decided to look up info about all the Shaw Brothers films I most enjoyed including Masked Avengers*, Flag of Iron (aka Spearman of Death), among others.  What surprised me the most was that I could find the least amount of information on KC, even though he was pretty much the main star among the Venom Mob.

Masked Avengers

Flag of Iron

I thought this to be a travesty and decided to create my own fan site to share my adoration of the man!  Surely there must be others who find KC to be the greatest Venom ever?!  I loved him as the Lizard, but my loyalty to him was sealed after seeing him as Officer Hai To in Kid with the Golden Arm.

KwtGA

I think he was the most well-rounded of the group in terms of his martial arts/acrobatic skills, his acting abilities, his physique, and his charming personality.  All of these traits is probably what allowed him to take the lead in most of the SB films that starred the "Venom Mob" which had him playing the heroic survivor in the majority of the movies after The Five Venoms.

Sword Stained with Royal Blood

While not traditionally handsome, I think he exuded masculine charm which I found irresistible.  And anytime he wore the topknot warrior hairstyle with the muttonchops, he was especially good-looking.  (The chiseled cheekbones definitely helped, too.)

Brave Archer and His Mate (BA#4)

KC was the most athletic and technically skilled of the Venoms IMHO.  I'm always impressed by his form whenever he executes a move or conducts his acrobatics.  He's this perfect blend of all the other Venoms - he's as skilled with weapons as Lu Feng, can jump as high and lightly as Chiang Sheng, can fight hand-to-hand on par with Lo Mang, and acts as well as any of the most popular Shaw Brothers players.

So all my posts here are completely KC-centric and a lot of my opinions about his SB films are based on how well the movie showcases him directly.  I'm also influenced by how well he is dressed, the time period and his hairstyle, and what his character is allowed to do.  I'm incorporating my own ranking and notes system as explained below.

My pseudo-rating system will incorporate the following:
My SB/KC checklist:

Role - KC is almost always the Hero, but once in a while, he's the Heel/bad guy
Hair - Will be about the style plus whether he's got facial hair or not
Handsome/Charming scale - Will be out of 5 stars 

Weapon of choice - Will be about what kinds of weapons used, if anything

Dub v.o. - Since way-back-when, I've always gauged the quality of the dubbed voice based off this one voice over actor who seemed to always do the Main Character's v.o.  This main "good" voice is the one who does KC's voice for Agent Hai To in KwtGA.  The "2nd good" voice is the one who does KC's voice in Masked Avengers.  (Someday, I'd love to find the identities of these English voice over actors!)

SPOILER:

Ending - Will be whether KC's character lives or not.  He almost always does, but once in a while, he is a martyr or even a villain! 

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*And throughout this blog, when referencing the Shaw Brothers (SB) films, I will write his name as Kuo Chui (or just KC) since that was the name in English I'd see him credited as.  Only years later did I realize Philip Kwok was the same man (and why I didn't realize he was in Hard Boiled for a long time!).

Also, I had no idea that a lot of the old SB movies had been remastered and re-released by Celestial Pictures and various companies like Tokyo Shock and Dragon Dynasty.  Seeing my beloved films cleaned up, widescreen and optional original audio (Mandarin with subtitles), it honestly felt like I was watching a whole new movie!  I've been buying the DVDs in the order of my favorite KC films with the sad exception of Masked Avengers since no company that would release it here has purchased those rights (yet, I hope?).